Ultrasound tests and fast-tracking Kavach: Govt amps up rail safety

New Delhi: Allaying concerns over rail safety, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has asserted that implementation of the ‘Kavach’ automatic train protection system was being carried out on a war footing alongside rigorous quality checks for tracks and signals

From ultrasound tests to installation of fog safety devices, the latest technology tools and solutions are being used across the network, while special training is also being imparted to drivers and other personnel for the Kavach system, the minister told a select group of journalists here.

The comments assume significance in the wake of a spate of derailment cases reported in the recent past, which the opposition parties have used to attack the government.

Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system and a highly technology-intensive system that requires safety certification of the highest order.

Among other things, Kavach aids the loco pilot in trains running within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case the driver fails to do so and also helps the train run safely during inclement weather.

With the designing and testing phases over, including through trials and pilots, the government is aiming to cover the entire network of over 1 lakh km and more than 7,000 stations with Kavach during the next few years.

Vaishnaw said tenders had already been issued for fitting 10,000 locomotives and 9,600 kilometres of track length with Kavach. Besides, courses are being conducted at IRISET (Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications) for training of personnel.

Vaishnaw also explained in detail various safety measures being followed by the Railways, including more than 97,000 inspections done by officials so far this fiscal, alongside 2,500 kilometres of track renewal.

Besides, ultrasound tests are being done for the entire network and 1,86,000 (1.86 lakh) kilometres of tracks and 11.66 lakh welds have been tested with ultrasound machines since April, he added.

New ultrasound machines have also been introduced, a large number of railway bridges rehabilitated, and hundreds of flyovers and underpasses constructed, the minister said.

Vaishnaw further said that 5,300 fog safety devices had been installed, quality checks of track fittings carried out by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), and hardship and risk allowance of trackmen

increased by 25 per cent.